Importing and using FMU

This section describes the import of a third-party FMU into Simcenter Amesim, for which two phases can be distinguished (see figures below).

Figure 1: Creation of the third-party FMU (phase 1)

Figure 2: Use of the third-party FMU in Simcenter Amesim (phase 2)

The specifications of the import tool are the following:

• It has to be used once per FMU. Once a FMU is imported, it becomes a Simcenter Amesim submodel which can be reused later without the need to invoke again the importing tool;

• The tool maps the FMI-related concepts such as Scalar Variable into equivalent concepts of the internal standard interface between a submodel and the Simcenter Amesim simulation environment (numerical solver and runtime);

• Since an FMU usually stores the executable part of the model as a platform-dependent binary file (either a dynamic link library on Windows platforms or shared object on Unix platforms), the import submodel acts as a software gateway or wrapper to the functions compiled in the binary file;

• The tool thus acts as a domain-specific language compiler: it parses and interprets the text of the model description XML file and then generates the C code of a standard Simcenter Amesim submodel which wraps the functions of the binary file. This C code is finally compiled using the usual submodel compilation chain of Simcenter Amesim;

• The tool also provides all the Simcenter Amesim-specific information required for the creation of the submodel, such as port or icon definitions, since this information is missing from the FMI specification.